‘Jeopardy!’ Makes Two Major Changes Ahead of Season 42

Sony/Jeopardy! Inc.

Don’t worry Jeopardy! fans! The game show you know and love isn’t changing too much, but there are two changes happening in Season 42 that die-hard fans might notice.

Production for Season 42 is set to begin next week with 200+ crew members, despite new episodes not airing until Monday, September 8. With a new season comes changes, with one being “unpopular” among fans.

According to The U.S. Sun, “The show has some changes in the works to jazz up season 42.”

“No one is jumping the shark, the format and all that, the heart of the show, will be the same,” an insider told the outlet. “But there will be new set pieces and, unfortunately for the fans, there will be some, perhaps even an increase, in sponsored categories. Producers know that’s not popular with fans, and quite frankly, a lot of the production team doesn’t like it either.”

“But it’s part of the game. It helps with revenue and cross promotion, so it is what it is,” the insider ended.

Sponsored categories on Jeopardy! are categories where a product or service is advertised, often by having a celebrity introduce the category or read the clues. Usually, the celebrity is promoting a new project, such as a movie or TV show that corresponds with the category. The most recent example of this is Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis reading clues for the “Freakier Fridays” category to promote their upcoming film, Freakier Friday, out August 8.

A lot of fans aren’t fond of the category, especially when it is a celebrity promoting something like skincare or beer. “Categories like ‘Michael Strahan’s Skin Care Line’ from early this season or ‘Budweiser and Sports’ from the 9/7 rerun are incredibly annoying,” a Reddit user said.

“100% agree, although the TV and movie ones bother me too. The product placements used to be more subtle. Now they are outright unapologetic commercials. And they take forever for the video guest to read the lengthy clues. Plus, they are never well-written or clever clues or even interesting,” another said.

“It does bug me a bit when they finish the category, and then the host says, ‘And you can watch [X], out in theaters this Friday.’ Feels dirty, man,” a third added.

“The only thing that really bugs me about it is that they seem obligated to go through all the questions in the sponsored categories in a round, but they’re often longer video clues that eat up time. There are usually a few questions on the board at the end of any rounds with sponsored categories,” one last fan said.

What do you think of the change? Let us know in the comments.

Jeopardy!, Season 42, September 8, check local listings